But of course, paid-for content is also possible. People already pay money for pictures of birthday cakes and the like on Facebook, and MySpace has many sites pushing commercial products. Why not offer paid-for apps for a small price, particularly if the quality is high. There could be kudos attached to desirable paid-for games – after all in any network there are those who aspire to greater things, those who want to prove they are a cut above their peers. For every one who doesn’t mind easyJet, there is another who would never fly less than Club Class.
Above all, people across the world love to share. They like to share their lives, which is why blogging and social network profiles are popular. The details we’d shy away from dishing out to governments for fear of Big Brother, we quite freely give away online. They like others to approve of what they like and join them in their love for it. So while we’re set to see an explosion of games on social network sites, what we will see more of are games that people can play together. After all, what’s the point of getting on Facebook or MySpace and playing a game in isolation? Surely it’s all about having fun with the friends you’ve spent so long “collecting”. And what better way to do that than with a game? Like Scrabulous perhaps…

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